Who is Josh Stinson?

Josh Stinson will make an emergency start tonight for the Orioles against the Blue Jays. So who is Josh Stinson?

Stinson is a 25-year old right-hander who the Orioles claimed off of waivers from the Oakland A’s on April 4th, just six days after they acquired him on waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers. Who had acquired him off waivers the year before from the Mets. So in case you are tracking this, he’s been waived by three teams in the last year.

Stinson has always been known as a guy with a good arm whose results have rarely matched his talents. He throws a 92-94 MPH fastball that gets sink at times. He features slider, curveball and occasional change up and will mix in a cutter as well.

Unfortunately, despite the kitchen sink approach to pitches, Stinson’s command has held him back. He’s put up a 4.16 BB/9 over his last 268 innings in AA and AAA while striking out just 5.81 per nine. Despite having a sinking fastball at times, his 47.9% GB% over that same span suggests it’s not going to be a huge ground ball guy in the majors.

Most observers seem to think Stinson’s role in the big leagues will be as a reliever, but he’ll need to show improved command for that to happen as well.

For now, the Orioles will give him a look as a spot starter but don’t expect too much. Although Stinson has a nice 0.77 ERA in two starts in Norfolk, it’s worth mentioning that he allowed 15 base runners including four walks and one hits batsman while allowing four runs, just one of those were earned though.

Most likely Stinson will be here for this start only although if he pitches well, he could earn himself a second look.

Tony Pente

Tony has owned and operated Orioles Hangout since 1996 and is well known for his knowledge of the Baltimore Orioles organization from top to bottom. He's a frequent guest on Baltimore-area sports radio stations and can be heard regularly on the 105.7 FM The Fan. His knowledge and contacts within the Orioles minor league system and the major league baseball scouting industry is unparalleled in the Baltimore media and is known as an expert on the Orioles prospects.